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How Aggression Leads to More Aggression
Like a champion fighter gaining confidence after each win, a male mouse that prevails in several successive aggressive encounters against other male mice will become even more aggressive in future encounters. This phenomenon is interesting to scientists who study behavioral neuroscience because aggression is an innate behavior in the brain. Now a team of Caltech […]
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TCCI® Director, Professor Ying Mao Introduces New Technologies for Epilepsy Treatment in a Paper Published in the Journal Nature, Biomedical Engineering
On September 28, Professor Ying Mao, Director of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Translational Research, and Professor Cong Li from the School of Pharmacy at Fudan University, published a paper, titled ” An electric-field-responsive paramagnetic contrast agent enhances the visualization of epileptic foci in mouse models of drug-resistant epilepsy” in the journal Nature […]
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Unlocking the Mysteries of Brain Chemistry With New Dopamine Sensors
Research from Viviana Gradinaru, Director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, is cited in this article about dLight1, a dopamine sensor developed by Lin Tian and her team at UC Davis Health, which detects this hormone which is released by neurons to send signals to other nerve cells. When combined with advanced microscopy, […]
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How Fear Persists in the Mouse Brain
After a sudden fright, it’s common for your heart rate to stay elevated, your palms to stay sweaty and senses to remain alert for another threat. Mice also exhibit this response and a team of Caltech researchers wanted to learn what’s happening at a cellular level in the mouse’s brain during these persistent displays of […]
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As Pandemic Progressed, People’s Perceived Risks Went Up
In the first week of the coronavirus pandemic, people living in the United States underestimated their chances of catching the virus, or of getting seriously ill from the virus, according to a recently published Caltech-led study. But as the days progressed, those same people became more worried about their personal risk, and, as a result, […]
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Clear Contrast: Q&A with Mikhail Shapiro, Ph.D
One of the most challenging aspects of studying the brain is that it’s so hard to access within living organisms. Mikhail G. Shapiro, PhD, TCCI®-affiliated, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator was recently interviewed by the Dana Foundation about his team’s recent discovery of an “erasable” contrast agent which makes it easier to study […]
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Earlier Help for Anorexia
The most life-threatening of all psychiatric disorders is anorexia nervosa, affecting about one percent of Americans. The eating disorder typically emerges in adolescence and is characterized by low body-mass index and an intense fear of weight gain. Anorexia damages the heart, sometimes fatally, and can injure the brain and other organs, weaken bones and muscles, impair […]
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Merkin Institute Catalyzes COVID-19 Research at Caltech
Several TCCI® for Neuroscience faculty members at Caltech have received grants from Merkin Institute for Translational Research to study different aspects of COVID-19. Dean Mobbs, assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience and Chen Scholar; Cindy Hagan, research assistant professor of neuroscience; and Ralph Adolphs, Bren Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Biology, and director of the Caltech […]
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Famous Economics Experiment Reproduced Thousands of Times
In an open marketplace, such as a farmers’ market where produce and other goods like candles and flowers are exchanged for money, the ideal prices for both consumers and sellers will quickly emerge. For example, if a seller tries to offer a bag of peaches for $10 but another vendor is willing to sell similar […]
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Risks of Cognitive Impairment Linked to Sleep Characteristics and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers
Researchers in the labs of Professor Yu Jintai within the Department of Neurology at Fudan University-affiliated Huashan Hospital and Professor Tan Lan from the Department of Neurology at Qingdao University have discovered that frequent sleepiness during the day, insufficient sleep or too much sleep at night can affect the levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) indicators […]